by Patrick Wingrove

London: Novo Nordisk On Thursday, it said it had sued nine more medical spas. Wellness Clinics And pharmacies in the US are accused of selling products containing semaglutide, a key ingredient in its popular drug. weight loss drug WeGovi.

Danish drug manufacturer Since June, 21 lawsuits have been filed over the sale of counterfeit versions of semaglutide. Five sellers have been barred from selling their controversial products. One lawsuit has been amended because samples it tested were found to be up to 33% impure.

The new lawsuits name Aesthetic Maison, BOF Medical CenterDoctorsRx, G2 Telemedicine, GenericOzempic.com, MD Exam, Medioc Pharmacy, Midtown Express and Weight Loss MD are named as defendants.

The lawsuits were filed in federal courts in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Texas and Tennessee.

The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

“Non-FDA approved compounded drugs claiming to contain semaglutide with known impurities and high levels of unknown impurities pose significant risks to patients and can cause serious and life-threatening reactions,” said Doug Langa, MD, Novo’s head of North America operations.

Novo said in its lawsuit against Aesthetic Maison that the company was selling products containing semaglutide directly to patients without a prescription from a medical professional.

Testing showed that Midtown Express’ drug did not contain semaglutide and that Medioc’s product was much lower strength than advertised, Novo claimed in its lawsuits against those entities.

Novo has also filed new charges against Florida-based pharmacies TruLife and WellHealth, which it first sued in July.

The drugmaker said that when it tested products being sold by WellHealth, it found impurities of up to 24%, including formaldehyde adducts, dimers and other unknown impurities. Novo said it also found impurities in TruLife’s products.

Scott Brunner, CEO of Alliance for Alliance Pharmacy Compoundingsaid legitimate compounded drugs should not be confused or mixed with counterfeit or substandard substances that are created by entities taking advantage of patient demand.

Eli Lilly, Novo’s biggest rival in the obesity drug market, has also sued several medical spas. weight loss clinics and over the past year pressured compounding pharmacies to stop selling products containing tirzepatide, the active ingredient in the weight-loss drug Zepabound.

At least four of Lilly’s lawsuits have been settled, withdrawn or dismissed. (Reporting by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Richard Chang)